Apparatus fob deep well pumping



kph l2, 1939. c. J. COBERLY APPARATUS FOR DEEP WELL PUMPING Filed Jan. 26, 1938 Patented Sept. 12, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT vol-ElcE to Roko Corporation, Reno,

tion of Nevada Nev., a corpora- Application January ze, 193s, serial No. 187,016

Claims.

My invention relates to the art of pumping a well, and moreparticularly to an apparatus for removing undesirable deposits from the walls of the Well tubing.

Although my invention is susceptible of other uses, it is of particular utility in the oil industry and, accordingly, will be described in connection with such use, but it is to be understood that this is for the purpose of illustration only and that I do not intend to be limited to such utilization of the invention.

My invention is especially adapted to be used in connection with a fluid operated deep well pump of the type disclosed in my Letters Patent No. I2,081,220, issued May 25, 1937, entitled Liquid operated pump, but any suitable type of fluid operated pump may be used without departing from the spirit of the invention.

In the oil well pumping art it has been found that crude oil pumped from a well frequently has a high content of waxes or other undesirable materials which may, and commonly do, deposit on the wallsof the well tubing to clog the tubing and reduce the flow of fluid through such tubing. For the purpose of this specification and claims such materials are hereinafter referred to as foreign materials. Crude oil as it is pumped from the bottom of a deep well ordinarily has a temperature suiiiciently high to maintain any wax orvother similar substances in solution therein, but as the `oil is pumped upwardly through the production tubing thetemperature of the-well formation and the oil temperature gradually decrease at different points along the tubing until the oil temperature falls below a critical point at which at least 'a part of the'wax therein crysvtallizes out in the form of a deposit on the walls ofthe tubing. vSuch deposit has been found to occur with` certain oils when the temperature of ,m the oil falls below 90 F. The level at which wax begins to deposit onthe tubing Walls varies considerably in different wells and under diierent pumping conditions, fand is determined by such factors, for example, as the character of the well I, oil, the character of actuating fluid used in operating the fluid operatedpump, the depth of the well, and the temperatures throughout the tubing. When a uid operated pump is used, having a macaroni tubing conveying actuating fluid to the pump and extending through the production tubing, wax normally deposits on the outside of such macaroni tubing and on theinside of the production tubing which carries the pumped oil to the surface of the ground. During pumping, such wax deposit progressively increases, requiring that the well periodically be shut down for considerable periods of time to permit the tubing to be cleaned of such deposit, and ordinarily necessitates removal of the pump from the Well during such cleaning operations. 'I'he 5 accumulation of the wax deposit decreases the efficiency of the pump, and the periodic cleaning of the tubing is expensive and highly undesirable.

Accordingly, it is a primary object of my invention to provide a new and efficient apparatus for cleaning well tubing of deposits of foreign materials thereon without removing the pump from the Well.

It is a further object of my invention to prol5 vide an apparatus for cleaning well tubing of deposits of foreign materials thereon during op'- eration of the well pump.

A still further object of the invention is to supply a method and apparatus for cleaning well tubing of deposits of foreign materials thereon, in which the Well pump is utilized to actuate a cleaning element in the tubing.

Another object of the invention is to provide a well tubing cleaning device adapted to reciprocate in a well tubing to clean such tubing of deposits of foreign materials thereon.

It is still another object of my invention to provide an apparatus for use in connection with a fluid operated pump in which actuating fluid for the pump is conveyed downwardly through an outer tube of two concentric tubes to a point above the pump and is then conveyed downwardly from said point to said pump through the inner tube of said concentric tubes, the fluid raised by the pump passing upwardly from the' pump through the outer tube to said point and from said point upwardly throughl said inner tube.

A further object of the invention is to sup- 40 ply an apparatus for pumping a well in which the deposit of foreign materialsis controlled so that deposit will occur on only one tubular surface of thewell tubing.

Still another object of my invention is to provide an apparatus for use in connectiton with a fluid operated pump in which the production ow from the pump is utilized to actuate a cleaning device to clean the pump tubing of deposits of foreign materials, the production flow removing such deposits from the tubing after they have been cleaned therefrom.

Another object of the invention is to provide a novel apparatus for operating a fluid operated pump in which the production iiow from the pump is conveyed upwardly through an inner tube and the actuating fluid is conveyed downwardly through an outer tube of a pair oi concentric tubes.

A further object of the invention is to provide a novel form of device adapted to be dropped through a well tubing, and including means for introducing and removing such device from the tubing.

A still further object of my invention is to provide an apparatus vfor cleaning a tubing of foreign materials therein in which a cleaning element may be'positively reciprocated inthe tubing by fluid under pressure to remove the foreign materials.

Another object of the invention is to supply a cleaning element for a tubing, and to provide means for forcing the cleaning element longitudinally in either direction in the tubing. Thisis of particular importance in the event that the cleaning element sticks in the tubing, `since it provides means for removing the cleaning element without disturbing the position of rthe tubing.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will be apparent from. the speciiication and drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is an elevational view, partly in section, of the upper end of my invention.

Fig. 2 .is a sectional elevational view continued downwardly from the lower endl of Fig. l, but on a slightly larger scale.

Fig. 3 is an elevational view, partly in section, of the pumping device of the invention, said view being a lower continuation of Fig. 2.

Fig. 1 shows an outer tubing I0 adapted to be extended downwardly into an oil well, having a tubing head I I of any type well known in the art at the upper end thereof provided with a header connection I2 connected to a header I3 leading to a two-way valve I3a. Extending through the tubing head Il and upwardly therefrom is the upper end I4 of an inner tubing I5, to which is threaded a T-joint I6. The T-joint I6 has a pipe I'I connected to one branch thereof and an auxiliary header I8 connected to the other branch thereof in axial alignment with the inner tubing I5. Connected to the auxiliary header I8 is a gate valve I 8 of standard design having a gate valve member 20 adapted to be moved by a control wheel 2l so as to open or close the auxiliary header, as is well known in the art.

Connected to the upper end of the auxiliary header I8, by means of a collar 22, is a tubular member 23 having a screw plug 24 in the upper end thereof and having a delivery pipe 25 connected to and communicating with the tubular member. The other end of the delivery pipe 25 is preferably connected through a suitable T- joint 26 to the pipe I'I, the pipe being provided with a gate valve 21 between the T-joints I6 and 26 similar in construction to the gate valve I8, and the delivery pipe likewise being provided with a similar valve 21a. The other branch of the T-joint 26 is connected through a pipe 28 to the two-way valve I3a, th valve having a supply line 29 and a discharge line 29a connected thereto. The two-way valve I3a is of any suitable type well known in the art, and has appropriate passages therein, as shown in dotted lines 28h in Fig. 1, which are adapted to connect the supply line 29 to either the header I3 or the pipe 28, and the dischargeline 28a to either the header I3 or the pipe 28, thus providing means for reversing the flow through the device by rotation of a handle 29e provided for that purpose. It will be understood that the supply line 29 leads to a suitable source of high pressure fluid (not shown), and that the discharge line 29a leads to a convenient point of discharge or storage of the pumped uid.

The tubing head II -is preferably positioned above and adjacent the surface Yof the ground, and the outer tubing I is adapted toextend downwardly into a well. As shown in Fig. 2, the outer tubing I0 is made up of an upper section 30, a central section 3I, and a lower section 32, preferably 'connected together by threaded collars 33 and 34 respectively. The lower end of the inner tubing I is threadedly connected to a transposition element 35 having an intermediate tubing 36 threadedly connected thereto and extending upwardly between the central section 3I of the outer tubing I0 and the inner tubing I5, the intermediate tubing making a fluid-tight t with an annular section 31 of the inner surface of the central section 3I. The intermediate tubing 36 ana the inner tubing I5 form a space 38 therebetween communicating at its upper end with a high pressure fluid space 39 dened by the inner and outer tubings I5 and I0, and communicating at its lower end with a longitudinal passage 40 extending through the transposition element 35. The longitudinal passage 40 communicates at its lower end with. the interior of a lower section 4I of the inner tubing I5 which is threadedly connected to the lower end of the transposition element 35. It will be noted that the lower section 32 of the outer tubing I0 and the lower section 4I of the inner tubing denne a low pressure space 42 therebetween which com'- municates at its upper end with a space 43 between the transposition element and the section 32, the space 43 communicating through an inlet passage 44 and a bore 45 formed in the transposition element with the Vinterior of the inner tubing I5 above the transposition element. Connecting the bore 45 and the space 38, and formed in the transposition element 35, is a reverse flow valve means 46, comprising a passage 41 suitably counterbored to receive a ball valve member 48 retained therein by a threaded sleeve for a purpose which will be described hereina er.

As shown in Fig. 3, the lower section 32 of theouter tubing I0 is provided with a conical seat 50 having an inlet opening 5I therein, the seat receiving the lower tapered end 52 of a pumping unit 53. grammatically shown in the drawing, is of the fluid actuated type as preferably shown in detail in my Letters Patent No. 2,081,220, referred to above, but any suitable type of pump may be utilized without departing from the invention. The pumping unit 53 is provided with inlet passages 54 and 55 having suitableinlet valves 56.

The pumping unit 53, which is dia.

vided with suitable high pressure uuid passages 65 and 66 adapted to supply high pressure iiuid alternately to opposite ends o! the motor piston to reciprocate it, the flow of high pressure fluid being supplied by the lower section 4I of the inner tubing I8 and being controlled by suitable valve mechanism (not shown) in the pumping unit.

In Fig. 2 a cleaning element. is shown in the inner tubing I5. 'I'he cleaning element 18 has a tubular element 1I making a sliding fit with the inner tubing I5, and is provided at its upper end with a scraper member 12 threaded thereto. The scraper element 12 is provided with openings 13 therethrough, and has a central bore 14. The lower end of the tubular element 1I is provided with a seat member 15 threaded thereto, having vertical passages 16 therethrough and having a bore 11 in axial alignment with the central bore 14 of the scraper member 12. The lower end of the seat member 15 is provided with a chamber 18 and has orifices 13 communicating between the chamber and the interior of the inner tubing I5, and is also provided with a tapered seat 88 adapted to receive the upper tapered end 8| of a tubular plunger 82. 'I'he tubular plunger 82 is of slightly less diameter than the interior of the. inner tubing I5, so as to be readily movable therethrough, and has a helical vane 83 formed on the periphery thereof adapted to make a sliding ilt with the interior of the inner tubing. suitably connected to the upper end of the tubular plunger 82 is a plunger rod 84 which extends upwardly, being journalled in the bore 11 and central bore 14, and having a cap 85 on the upper end thereof. The plunger rod 84 is of such a length that when the plunger 82 is seated in the tapered seat 88 the rod will extend a substantial distance above the scraper element 12, downward movement of the rod and plunger relative to the tubular element 1I being limited by engagement of a collar 86 fixed on the rod and the scraper element. Loosely carried on the plunger rod 84, above the collar 86, is a :dapper valve member 81 adapted to seat in a conical lvalve seat 88 formed in the upper end of the scraper element 12. It will be noted that the flapper valve member 81 is free to move at all times relative to the seat 88, regardless of the position of the plunger rod 84.

In operation, high pressure actuating fluid is conveyed to the pumping unit 53 to operate it. the fluid normally owing from a suitable source of supply through the supply line 29, the twoway valve I3a, the header I3, and the connection I2 into the high pressure space 38 between the outer and inner tubings I8 and I5. 'I'he actuating fluid ows downwardly through the space 39, through the space 38, and through the longitudinal passage 48, into the lower section 4I of the inner tubing I5, from whence it passes downwardly therein to operate the pumping unit 53, being alternately supplied through the high pressure passages- 65 and 66 to the motor cylinder 64 to reciprocate the motor piston 63 therein. Since the motor piston 63 is operatively connected to the pump piston 6I by the piston rod 62, reciprocation of the motor piston causes reciprocation of the pump piston in the pump cylinder 68, to pump well fluid through the inlet opening 5I, alternately through the inlet passages 54 and 55, and alternately through the discharge passages 51 and 58 into the low pressure space 42. The well fluid is then pumped upwardly through the low pressure space 42, the space 43, the inlet passage 44, and the bore 45 into the interior of the inner tubing I5 above the transposition element 35, through which it passes upwardly through the upper end I4 of the inner tubing, the T-joint I8,

' the pipe I1. the twoay valve' I 3a, and the discharge line 28a, to a int of discharge or storage (not shown). During\ such pumping, the gate valves I3 and 21a are normally closed and the gate valve 21y is open. Attention is directed to the fact that the well fluid pumped from the pumping 'unit 53 normally flows upwardly through the outer tubing I8 to the transposition element 35 and thence flows upwardly through the inner tubing I5, whereas high pressure iluid ows downwardly in the outer tubing to the transposition element and thence through the inner tubing to the pumping unit, which is an important feature ofthe invention.

When vit is desired to install and operate the cleaning element 18, which may be accomplished during normal operation "of the pumping unit 53 with the valves I9 and 21a closed, .the screw plug 24- is removed from the tubular'member 23, and the assembled cleaning element is inserted into the tubular member as shown in dotted lines 98 in Fig.1. 'I'he screw plug 24 is then reinserted into the tubular member 23 to close the upper end thereof. In practice,i the cleaning element 18 drops by gravity through the tubular member 23 until the lower end of the tubular plunger 82 engages the gate valve member 28. The gate valve I9 is then opened by rotating the wheel 2| to move the gate valve member 28 out of alignment with the tubular member 23, and the cleaning element 18 is then free to drop by gravity through the inner tubing I5.

When the cleaning element 'I0 is started on its downward trip through the inner tubing I5 due to friction between the tubular element 1I and the inner tubing I5, .the progress of the tubular element is retarded, and the tubular plunger 82 falls to its lowermost position in which the collar 86 engages the scraper element 12, so that the upper tapered end 8| of the plunger is out of engagement with the seat 88, permitting the free flow of well fluid upwardly around the tubular plunger as guided by the helical vane 83 and throughthe chamber 18, the vertical passages 16, the interior of the tubular element 1I, the openings 13, and the scraper member 12, the fluid ow forcing the apper valve member 81 outwardly and out of seating relation in the valve seat 88. The cleaning element 18 has a weight suilicient the lower end of the tubular plunger 82 engages the upper end of the transposition element 35, the inertia of the cleaning element 18 causes the tubular member 1I to continue its downward movement until the seat 88 engages the tapered upper end 8| of the tubular plunger, at which time the free upward ow of well fluid past the tubular plunger is shut off, and the upward flow of well iluid starts to raise the cleaning element as a unit through fthe inner tubing I5. By reason of the orices 19, a slight upward flow of well fluid is permitted to by-pass the tubular plunger 82, so that the rate of upward flow of the well fluid is slightly greater than ahead of the cleaning element by the well fluid and discharged therewith.

During normal operation of the cleaning element 10, the gate valves I9 and 21a are preferably closed, and when the cap 85 engages the gate valve member 20, the upward pressure of the well fluid on the seat member 'I5 causes the seat member and the tubular element associated therewith to move upwardly relative to the tubular plunger 82 to unseat the tapered end 8| from the seat 80, which again permits a free flow of well fluid through the seat member 15 and permits the cleaning element to again drop by gravity through the inner tubing I 5. Any foreign materials removed from the inner tubing I5 during the downward movement of the cleaning element 'I0 therein will be carried upwardly through the inner tubing by the flow of pumped well fluid therethrough, so that the cleaning action of the cleaning element may take place on both the upward and downward movements thereof.

It sometimes happens that the cleaning element II) may stick in the inner tubing I5 intermediate its terminal positions, due to accumulation of foreign materials on the inner wall of the tubing, and it is very desirable to provide means for forcing the cleaning element through the tubing when this occurs. As described above, the cleaning element I is pumped upwardly through the inner tubing I5, and downward pumping of the cleaning element is permitted by the flapper valve member 81 and the two-way valve means I3a. When the cleaning element 10 sticks during its downward movement through the inner tubing I5, the fluid flow is reversed so as to pass fluid under high pressure downwardly through the inner tubing I5, which may be accomplished readily by rotating the handle 29o of the two-way valve I3a through an arc of 90 to connect the supply line 29 with the pipe 28 and the discharge line 29a with the header I3. Downward flow of high pressure fluid through the inner tubing I5 causes the flapper plate 81 to seat on the seat 88, and the cleaning element is then pumped downwardly through'the inner tubing, which overcomes any tendency which the cleaning element has to stick in the inner tubing. During downward pumping of the cleaning element 10, fluid in the inner tubing I5 below the cleaning element will be placed under relatively high pressure by the cleaning element, and will flow outwardly through the reverse flow valve means 46, displacing the ball 48 from its seat and flowing therearound into the space 38.

Before the cleaning element 'I0 reaches the transposition element 35, the two-way valve I3a is operated to reconnect the supply line 29 with the header I3 and the discharge line 29a with the pipe 28, to permit resumption of normal pumping operation in which the high pressure fluid passes downwardly into the outer tubing I0 and the production flow from the pumping unit 53 passes upwardly out of the inner tubing I5.

It 'will be understood from the foregoing description that during the normal pumping operation of the pumping unit 53 the cleaning meniber 'I0 may be utilized to remove foreign materials deposited on the inner surface of the inner tubing I5, the cleaning member automatically reciprocating the length of the inner tubing above the transposition element 35. Although I have shown a form of device in which the cleaning element 'I0 is directly actuated by operation of the pumping unit 53, which is the preferred embodiment of the invention, it will be appreciated that any other convenient means may be utilized to actuate the cleaning element without departing from the invention. It will also be understood that in the preferred embodiment of the invention the transposition element 35 will be positioned in the well at a point just below the point at which foreign materials normally start to deposit out of the pumped well fluid, so that all of such deposit will occur on the inner wall of the inner tubing I5, thus confining such deposit to'a desired wall from which it may readily be cleaned by means of the cleaning element 10. Furthermore, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the invention may successfully be employed under some operating conditions without the use of the cleaning element 10, it sometimes being convenient merely to remove from the well the upper portion of the inner tubing I5 by unscrewing it from the transposition element 35 and raising it out of the well through the outer tubing I0, to permit its being separately cleaned by any process well known in the art. f

I claim as my invention:

1. In a deep well pumping device, the combination of: a pump adapted to be positioned in a well and operable to pump wellfluid therefrom; well tubing adapted to receive said well fluid from said pump and convey it to the surface of the ground, said well fluid normally depositing foreign materials on a wall of said tubing; means for operating said pump; and a cleaning element adapted to be moved through said tubing for removing said foreign materials from said wall, said cleaning element being raised through the length of said tubing by the well fluid discharged from said pump.

2. In a fluid operated pumping device, the combination of: a pair of concentric well tubings, comprised of an outer tubing and an inner tubing; and a transposition element associated with said tubings at a point intermediate their ends for connecting said outer tubing above 4said point to said inner tubing below said point, and connecting said inner tubing above said point to said outer tubing below said point, said transposition element including valve means for connecting said inner and outer tubings at said point.

3. In a deep well pumping device, the combination of: a pump adapted to be positioned in a well and operable to pump well fluid therefrom; well tubing adapted to receive said Well fluid from said pump and convey it to the surface of the ground, said well fluid normally depositing foreign materials on a wall of said tubing; means for operating said pump to pump well fluid upwardly through said tubing to the surface of the ground; and a cleaning element adapted to be dropped by gravity through said tubing to a predetermined point therein and then raised through said tubing by the rising action of said well fluid therein for removing said foreign materials from said wall during the operation of said pump.

4. In a deep well pumping device, the combination of a pump adapted to be positioned in a well and koperable to pump well fluid therefrom; well tubing adapted to receive said well fluid from said pump and convey it to the surface of the ground; an element adapted to be inserted into said tubing; means for pumping said element downwardly through said tubing; and means for utilizing the upward flow of well fluid through said tubing to raise said element through said tubing.

5. In a fluid operated pumping device, the combination of: a fluid operated pump positioned in a well and operable to pump weil fluid therefrom, said pump having a discharge opening; an outer tubing; an inner tubing within said outer tubing; a transposition element associated with said tubings at a point intermediate their ends for connecting said outer tubing above said point to said inner tubing below said point and connecting said inner tubing above said point to said outer tubing below said point, said outer tubing below said point communicating with said discharge opening, the space between said outer and inner tubings above said point and Said inner tubing below said point forming a uid ge for conducting high pressure iiuid to said pump to actuate it, and said inner tubing above said point and the space between said outer and inner tubings below said point forming a discharge passage for said pump, so that foreign materials can be deposited on only one tubular wall of said discharge passage above said point.; and means for cleaning foreign materials from the wall of said discharge passage above said point while well uid is being discharged therethrough by said pump.

CLARENCE J. COBmLY. 

